Monday, July 2, 2012

July is the time to think about Christmas gifts IF you are planning on making them. This year I am!

I decided to make some cute wooden peg people for my siblings and their cute families. I may just turn them into ornaments to hang on the tree, or display them on a wooden plaque with the family name. We'll see.

Grab some tiny paint brushes and some acrylic paints and transform these unfinished wood pieces into masterpieces! They do take a while to paint but they are WAY cute.

A friend of mine is a pro crafter. She taught me a few tips.

TIPS:

*Paint the head FIRST! Paint the whole head the skin color you want. Let it dry. You will be holding onto the head while you paint the body so do this part first. Don't add any features quite yet.

*Paint the body. These are really cute when you can add detail. Take your time, and go slowly.

(Shh!! These are going to be my darling nieces.)

*Paint the arms. Make little sausage-like shapes for the arms. Try to move your arms a little closer together than on complete opposite sides of the peg. If you move the arms a little closer, you don't have to turn the peg to see both arms. It won't look funny, I promise.

(This is a "sausage" arm. This handsome little guy was painted by my friend. I wish I could take the credit.)

*Paint the hair and face. Once the body is dry, paint the hair first. Add the eyes, and mouth last.

The good thing about working with acrylic paints is that you can always go back and paint over any mistakes. I have repainted a lot!

*Spray with a finishing gloss. This will prevent the paint from chipping or scratching and will add a nice professional-looking shine.

(These are some of our "first" people. The largest two people have the spray finish. The others are still incomplete.)

GOOD LUCK!

WOOD SOURCE:

Casey's Wood Products has the cheapest wooden peg people I have seen. They have a great selection and are extremely helpful and nice. They ship on the same day for most orders.